So who was it who did NOT get a bat, passing on Adam Dunn and over-spending on Renteria? Here's the pretzel logic Knapp uses in her conclusion -- Sabean might be entirely responsible for this predicament; he made no bold moves to acquire a hitter in the offseason. But upper-level management defined this as a season in limbo by refusing to do anything with Sabean, granting a commitment or a pink slip. So when the panic set, he didn't appear to be the original source.

3 Comments:

Knapp’s analysis is backwards and wrong. Everything I read into this situation says that Sabean, without a contract in the future, has incentive to make short-term moves, even if they are flawed.

Why not trade Alderson for Johnson, Beltre, or some other medium-value bat? Of course any sane analysis reveals that such a trade will generate only two to four wins more this season, and the Giants would still miss the postseason by a healthy margin.

But pretend you're Sabean. You're desperate to keep your job, and if you have to trade away some of the team's future to do it, why wouldn’t you? Trade away a couple talented prospects, and sign free agents for deals longer than you'll be around... makes sense, really.

It's the job of the Giants ownership to end the insanity. To veto the dumb trade or the dunb signing. To protect the team's interests, not just the general manager's job.